Packing bag for laundering and drying of garments

ABSTRACT

A packing bag adapted for use in the laundering and drying of garments includes a packing bag body of permeable structure so that fluid can flow through the said body defined by at least one pair of opposite edges, one of them closed the other one open with closing means which define an internal space for placing the garment, and damping sections arranged on a wall portion of the referred packing bag body and auxiliary elements for washing and drying.

This patent application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/527,317 filed on Aug. 25, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a packing bag for laundering and drying garments, particularly delicate articles of clothing such as lingerie, hosiery, baby clothes, however, it is also intended for higher resistance articles, such as sneakers and flat shoes, which, in most cases, lead to a greater impact on the rotating assembly which can wear out and deform less resistant parts inside the drum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Due to friction during the clothes laundering and drying cycles that lead to wear and fabric deformation, several packing bags and laundry bags were proposed for fabric preservation particularly for the most delicate articles, such as lingerie, hosiery and similar.

The state of the art is represented by innumerous applications and patents such as BRMU7500852-1U; BRMU8702472-8; BRPI9502463-8; U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,867; U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,636 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,312 among possible others.

Basically, all these proposals show similarities, minor improvements, changes in shape through a new technical effect yet without providing a desired solution for the disadvantages that arise from the laundering and drying cycles, such as wear, deformation, impacts, etc.

Among the above documents, the most relevant prior art can be considered to be the one represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,312 which discloses a laundry bag of generally trapezoidal configuration composed by a durable material with an open mesh, such as a nylon mesh, to hold, during the washing and drying cycles, delicate articles such as lingerie. The sides of the bag present the same length and the width at the base is approximately two to three times the length of the upper end. The edges of the upper opening are provided with Velcro for opening and closing of the bag by overlapping one edge over the other.

Another art worth mentioning is the one represented by U.S. Pat. NO. 6,115,936 which discloses a packing bag with a foamed rubber packing bag intended for footwear, shaped for an envelope with waterproof walls and perforated by a number of openings interspersed with wall sections in such a way that it does not compromise its resistance, enabling the air flow.

While U.S. Pat. NO. 4,630,312 does not provide for use with footwear, U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,936 does not provide for use with delicate clothes and fabrics, even for conceptual reasons.

From the evaluation of state of the art and the previously mentioned art, it can be derived that these are proposals which, independently from each other, offer partial solutions to some of the encountered problems, i.e., the wearing and deformation of parts exposed to high speed rotation and washing and drying cycles, however, not in a durable way, once the packing bags themselves lack protection and are exposed to friction and impact with internal structural parts of the washing and drying machines, implying that wear, deformation and impact shocks are minimized but not eliminated.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

This invention provides a solution to the drawbacks observed in state of the art by providing a single packing bag intended for delicate garments such as lingerie, hosiery, baby clothes and footwear such as sneakers, flat shoes and the like.

In addition to providing one single packing bag, this is equipped, on the external side of the wall, with damping elements, not revealed in documents regarding the state of the art, which absorb impacts with the internal structure components of washing and drying machines, decreasing the intensity of impacts on the rotating assembly.

Another feature not disclosed by the state of the art is the provision of soft friction parts which cooperate in the cleansing of garments by using the inner part of the packing bag.

In a beneficial way, both the impact absorbing elements and the soft friction parts can be provided in packing bags of any shape, i.e., rectangular, flat, embodied by round walls, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention will be described in greater detail based on one of the possible embodiments of this invention, by making reference to the figures according to which:

FIG. 1 shows a flat view of a meshed wall packing bag provided with rods or surrounding damper pads to wash and/or dry garments inside a washing or drying machine;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the packing bag shown in FIG. 1 showing strips of soft friction material arranged internally and with closure features in one of the edges of the opening;

FIG. 2A shows a detail indicated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 shows the packing bag from FIG. 1, closed and containing a piece of lingerie; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the open packing bag with the inserted piece of lingerie.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to FIG. 1, the packing bag 1 of the invention comprises a surrounding wall 2 limited by two ends, one enclosed which defines the back 3 and one open which defines the opening 4 for the insertion of a garment.

Preferably the material of the surrounding wall 2 is a meshed material or nylon knitted fabric with a mesh containing openings larger than the fabric of the lingerie items, to ensure the flow of air and water through them.

Wall 2 is provided with rods or damping pads 5 with surrounding rings arranged according to the manufacturer's choice. The rods or pads can form rings or strips, depending on the cross section of the packing bag. The material of the rods or pads can be selected from a group of rubber or silicone-based materials.

The rods or pads 5 are inserted into grooves 6 fixed to the body, 2 by means of stitches, by way of example.

FIG. 2 shows the open packing bag provided with one of the closure components known as Velcro.

With 8 is indicated a strip of soft material which can be made of spongy material or the one utilized by Velcro type closing devices.

As shown in the detail on FIG. 2, the soft friction material 8 is fixed to the inner lining of the packing bag 1 in conventional manner, preferably sewn by stitching.

FIG. 3 shows the packing bag 1 of the invention with a surrounding wall 2 of nylon meshed material on the order of approximately 30 denier in feet or 50 GM/M2 closed at the ends, distally opposite 3 and 4 with construction characteristics not revealed by the state of the art, such as the damping elements 5 and the strips of soft material 8 which assist in the laundering indicated and described in the previous figures, containing, by way of example, one piece of lingerie indicated by an X.

The material of the rods or pads 5 is chosen from materials derived from special silicones, preferably silicone rubber 80%, 20 Quartz Silica 17%, Pigment 1%, Peroxide 2% and with circular section of 5 mm and that present the following characteristics:

TEST/ CHARACTERISTIC SPECIFIED VALUE VERIFIED UNIT VALUE TOLERANCE FOUND STANDARD HARDNESS SHORE - A 60 +/−5 62.00 D412 TENSILE MPA  6 2.00 7.00 MGE505 STRENGTH STRETCHING % 400 mm 50.00 420.00 J200

Finally, FIG. 4 shows the packing bag 1 in open position exposing the strips of soft material 8 that assist in washing and an imaginary piece of lingerie X, where it is clearly perceptible that there is a form of accommodation protected by the rods or pads 5 arranged on the outer side whose length and consistency provide and ensure the preservation of the curved walls of the packing bag.

It can be observed that it is the length and distribution of the rods or pads 5 on the packing bag body which define the cross-section and shape of the packing bag. The figures show a packing bag with an oval-shaped cross section. However, it is quite possible to apply rod sections or silicone pair segments in order to define a flat packing bag, in the manner of an envelope.

Whatever the final shape of the packing bag, the inner linings can be provided with sections or strips of soft or spongy material.

Therefore, the invention should not be considered as limited to the embodiments presented and described by way of example, a number of additional variations and modifications are feasible, being its use always possible for delicate garments as well as footwear such as sneakers and flat shoes, without departing from the scope of the following claims. 

1. A packing bag adapted for use in the laundering and drying of garments, comprising: at least one packing bag body with structure permeable to a flow of fluid through the body defined by a pair of opposite edges, one of them closed and the other one open defining an opening defining an internal space for placing the garment, and damping sections arranged in pairs on a wall portion of the said packing body.
 2. A packing bag according to claim 1, comprising at least one section of spongy material arranged internally over a wall which defines the referred internal space for inserting the garment.
 3. A packing bag according to claim 1, wherein the damping sections are formed by rods or pads.
 4. A packing bag according to claim 3, wherein the rods or pads have any of the following characteristics when considered in conjunction or isolatedly: TEST/ CHARACTERISTIC SPECIFIED VALUE VERIFIED UNIT VALUE TOLERANCE FOUND STANDARD HARDNESS SHORE - A 60 +/−5 62.00 D412 TENSILE MPA  6 2.00 7.00 MGE505 STRENGTH STRETCHING % 400 MM 50.00 420.00 J200


5. A packing bag according to claim 1, wherein the damping sections are formed by rods or pads comprising a predominantly silicone based material.
 6. A packing bag according to claim 2, wherein the damping sections are formed by rods or pads comprising a predominantly silicone based material.
 7. A packing bag according to claim 3, wherein the damping sections are formed by rods or pads comprising a predominantly silicone based material. 